With roots stretching back to 1822, this year marks Camira, the global textile manufacturer’s, 200-year anniversary in the transport industry. For this very special occasion the company is telling the story of its rich heritage in a series of three films, which will be released throughout 2022.
Beginning with a look at its past, the first film is now available to view on Camira’s website and YouTube channel and features a fascinating interview with Michael Holdsworth – whose family founded the Holdsworth textile company acquired by Camira in 2007. Beginning life as a worsted spinning mill, Holdsworth was established in 1822 by Michael’s ancestor, a cloth manufacturer named John Holdsworth. Over the next two centuries, the family-owned business gained a reputation for supplying speciality fabrics to transport operators across land, air, and sea, and was a founding member of the Moquette Manufacturers' Association - the ever-popular textile construction with which Camira remains synonymous.
In the 3-minute film, Michael, who is the sixth generation of the Holdsworth family and held the position of Managing Director of the company from 1979 to 2007, explores some of the highs, lows, incredible achievements, and beautiful fabrics made during the company’s history. Featuring archive footage and original photographs from the 1800s through to the early 2000s, this evocative film captures the advent of mass public transport, and the fabrics which brought passengers comfort and gave identities to some of the most famous operators and routes in the world.
Ciara Crossan, Transport at Camira, comments on the launch of the first film: “A truly fascinating story that encompasses transport by horse and carriage through to the era of steam and launch of electric, Michael's knowledge and passion spans a period of time in which so much changed, yet the fabrics on which commuters sat each day remained the same - designed and woven by Holdsworth. We’re so excited to share the company’s story in film and bring it to life for a new generation of transport enthusiasts.” The second film in the series by Camira will debut in June 2022, and will feature an interview with Paul Marchant, Head of Product Design at Transport for London.
The Camira & Michael Holdsworth interview can be watched here: https://www.camirafabrics.com/en/inspiration/200-years-of-transport-textiles-film-01